Can we call it the "Jigglers"?

Another day in Atlanta was met with torrential rain. All I kept thinking was, there goes my plans to shoot outdoors in the precious few after-school-hours of daylight. (The guy we're filming is also a schoolteacher).

It just wasn't going to happen. Time to change up the shoot plan... AGAIN.

We can't even get a shot of the Artist leaving his day job from the safe refuge of our mini-van because the rain is blowing sideways!

We take a little detour to grab coffee and a bite to eat, and of course the Artist spots prospective models at both locations. Of COURSE the coffee shop would be a Starbucks... and we'd never get a chain like that to sign off on a release, so we missed that moment. Then, the same thing happened at Publix.... sigh... so we were 0 for 2...

Side note: The coolest thing ever happened at Starbucks. Rain gives me a headache and we popped in to order up some energy. When I chatted with the girl behind the counter, I found out that the store was closing in an hour FOREVER. Apparently the location wasn't making good money so it was the staff's last hour in business. I immediately asked the girl if she'd still have a job. She was ok -- there were several other locations around Atlanta and because she was a full time permanent employee (Hello BENEFITS! This girl has better job security and coverage than I do!!) she'd be ok. Then, she went on to give me all four of my specialty drink orders for FREE. How NICE is that on a rainy day when nothing is going your way? I swear, there are angels among us everywhere!!

As the rain continued and the darkness descended, further plans were tossed out. But we made do... gotta roll with the punches when dealing with real life.

The highlight of my day was a trip to an authentic Atlanta suburban "gentleman's lounge" called the "Blue Flame".
For those extra curious types, you can virtually visit at http://www.blueflamelounge.com/index.htm

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if my crew and I were the first Caucasian people to ever set foot in this spot. We were there to capture the extent of Atlanta's bootyfulness... (not my idea but I was game nevertheless) and bootyful it was!

I dont think I was prepared for the scene. Let me preface by saying I had never been to a female strip club ever before this moment -- I had tried to entice friends to take me before, and I had ventured into a few male joints.... but I had never experienced the pole spinning, fake boob jiggling and legs spreading that I had HEARD happens in most strip clubs. This was a whole other world entirely -- it was a BOOTY HAVEN! There were no suspended acrobatics on poles, no huge plastic breasts.... it was all booty shaking, shimmying and bouncing! It was Booty Mania!

It wasn't the "Rippers" or the "Peelers"... neither name felt at all appropriate. It was more like the "Jigglers"! That name suited the scene I witnessed.

I still have to thank the lovely Dancer who allowed us to film her dance on camera and the owners of the place for letting us in with our huge professional camera in the first place. And I think I was in shock (or so my face seemed to dictate) the rest of the night by the whole experience. Talk about culture shock! Don't know how much of it will actually make the final film, but it was a monumental moment just the same.

So, as you can see, this first shoot trip continued to take a seedy turn.... and all I could do was hope that I could contrast it with some beautiful artistry in the days ahead....